Creature of the Cumberlands

In early 1794, barely just over two years after the town of Knoxville was established, a short but strange news item appeared in the Knoxville Gazette. A detachment of soldiers, 30 miles outside of Knoxville, encountered a “creature” that appeared nothing like they had ever seen or heard about before. And it wasn’t happy to see these soldiers in its own woods. Soon, the story was run in the Belfast Northern Star in Ireland and the English paper, the Derby Mercury, always crediting the Knoxville Gazette. Some reprints added: “The following account of a wonderful animal, lately discovered in the Cumberland Mountains, may be acceptable to the curious, and oblige a constant reader, it being a fact.” Fact or not, the Creature of the Cumberlands was real enough to those soldiers. And they weren’t afraid to report it.Written by Jack Neely and read by Alex Haralson.  Sound design and editing by Pete Carty. Theme song composed by Mike Stallings.Knoxville Chronicles is brought to you by the nonprofit Knoxville History Project.    Learn more at KnoxvilleHistoryProject.org